Homemade Fresh Pasta

This past summer I was given a great birthday gift from my good friend Melissa. She gave me the pasta roller attachments to my Kitchenaid. I was intimidated by them. When I was at William Sonoma I signed up for their pasta class. I am so glad I went to that class. The instructor made it seem so easy to make the pasta. She also showed us the new pasta attachment that I so want for Christmas. I could write up a whole blog entry about that gadget.

Anyway, back to the pasta. I came home that afternoon after the class and made the pasta dough. I went through the process of letting it rest. Then I started to work on rolling it through the pasta roller.

Next thing my youngest son Nicholas wanted to help. Sure okay you can. He thought it was the coolest gadget/toy mom has ever had. The little bugger took over making the pasta. I stood there like "hey when do I get to play with my birthday gift???" All was good. I atleast had some help.

I continued onto making a fresh Alfredo Sauce. Oh yumm...

I was so excited to see the first recipe of October posted. We love chowdah here in New England. I usually make a different recipe but I will be using this one from now on. It is tastier. I thought it should have been a little thicker.

This recipe was chosen by Jill of My Next Life. The recipe for Cheddar Corn Chowder
can be found in The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook on page 74

Ingredients

8 ounces bacon, chopped
1/4 cup good olive oil
6 cups chopped yellow onions (4 large onions)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
12 cups chicken stock
6 cups medium-diced white boiling potatoes, unpeeled (2 pounds)
10 cups corn kernels, fresh (10 ears) or frozen (3 pounds)
2 cups half-and-half
8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated

Directions

In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. If using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cob and blanch them for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain. (If using frozen corn you can skip this step.) Add the corn to the soup, then add the half-and-half and cheddar. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.